Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Councillor3004 "Dolores Claiborne" is an intriguing adaptation of Stephen King's fascinating novel, featuring a terrifying and thought-provoking account of a middle-aged woman's complex and tragedy-ridden life. Kathy Bates superbly portrays Dolores Claiborne, the main character whose marriage, work life, motherhood and subsequent years after the unfolding of the events depicted in the movie are the film's central frame. We see Kathy Bates as a young mother and maidservant for the difficult Vera Donovan, who is portrayed by the great Judy Parfitt. Jennifer Jason Leigh plays Dolores' daughter Selena, a complex character with more facets than a first look would allow to notice. While John C. Reilly and Christopher Plummer play great supporting roles, it's David Strathairn who may be the most outstanding supporting actor in the movie, portraying a frightening version of Dolores' husband Joe.Stephen King's novel may well be one of my personal favorite books, so it was only with great expectations that I started watching Taylor Hackford's interpretation of the story. Hackford changed a lot about the time line and added scenes including further confrontations between Selena and Dolores, but none of those decisions affected the movie in a negative way. The film mainly works thanks to the amazing performance of Kathy Bates, one of the best actresses working nowadays who deserves to be given more serious stuff in the vein of "Misery", "Fried Green Tomatoes" or "Dolores Claiborne" to work with. The story itself may be a rather ordinary one, but Stephen King made it work thanks to the unusual style of writing and one of his most memorable and most interesting narrators, and Taylor Hackford made it work thanks to casting Kathy Bates in this complex role.It is my personal belief that "Dolores Claiborne" easily lives up to the reputation of another Stephen King classic starring Kathy Bates, "Misery". While the latter may be the more memorable movie, there is no doubt that both these movies (and novels) are incredibly well-written and turn a simply premise into an engaging and thrilling story. Even if you already know the plot from the beginning to the end - as you do by reading Stephen King's novel, where he establishes the main plot elements from the very beginning -, both the movie and the book will not stop being engaging until its very end, and in my opinion, that's what good storytelling is about. It may not be a masterpiece, but it is an underrated story more than deserving of your attention and your time.

Rainey Dawn A very good movie about a woman named Dolores Claiborne. Dolores is a woman that was a maid for another woman, the elderly Vera Donovan. One day when the mailman came to deliver Vera her mail he found the maid Dolores standing over Vera with a marble rolling pin at the bottom of the stairs - this is how our movie begins. The question is: Dolores guilty of murder or was something else going on? Dolores daughter, Selena, gets a fax about her mother - she goes rushing back to get the story. But this is no family reunion time - Selena has not been happy with her mother for years.A wonderful chilling film! A great late night movie! 9/10

Python Hyena Dolores Claiborne (1995): Dir: Taylor Hackford / Cast: Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Plummer, David Strathairn, Judy Parfitt: Compelling thriller about endurable secrets. Kathy Bates stars as Dolores Claiborne who is in police custody for the murder of her boss. She claims to be innocent even though she was witnessed holding a rolling pin over the victim's head. Her daughter Selena arrives home due to an anonymous fax. Christopher Plummer portrays the lawyer out to prove Claiborne guilty. Their hatred dates back to the 1963 eclipse when he was unable to prove that she murdered her abusive husband. Director Taylor Hackford does a remarkable job going from past to present using lighting. Powerful performance by Bates whose past harbours scars but her future contains hope with a confession to her daughter to unearth buried pain. Jennifer Jason Leigh is flawless as her daughter Selena who uses pills to block out scars yet come to grips when she is her mother's last line of defence. Plummer is outstanding as the cynical lawyer whose only loss is to Claiborne but can he risk losing again? David Strathairn is vile as Claiborne's abusive liquor guzzling husband whose death is questionable moral. Judy Parfitt plays Claiborne's boss Vera Donovan whose presence is icy yet steers Claiborne to her ultimate option. Powerful and compelling film regarding carefully hidden sins. Score: 8 / 10

craigh01 I'll skip the synopsis since most of the other reviews cover that.This movie was great. It really gets you sucked in and you can't wait to find out what happens next. Kathy Bates is GREAT as Dolores. All around great acting. I didn't really like the blue color tones, I think I'm smart enough to figure out which part are flashbacks, but it didn't bother me much.I thought a lot about this movie the next day. To me, that's the sign of a great movie. Don't think it's all drama, there is quite a bit of excitement and a little bit of mystery thrown in. (No car chases or shootouts though if that's what you like... :)) Loved it! 8 stars from me....